Two killed, two children in hospital after eating poisonous guacamole at food festival
A food festival in Sardinia has ended in heartbreak after a dodgy batch of guacamole left two people dead and several others seriously ill, including two children.
The food poisoning outbreak occurred during Fiesta Latina, a three-day food festival in Sardinia held from July 22 to 24, where dozens of revellers began falling sick shortly after consuming an avocado dip served at one of the stalls.
Those who ate the guacamole began to show signs of botulism, a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium, clostridium botulinum.
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Among the victims was Valeria Sollai, a 62-year-old school chef, who had eaten an avocado sandwich at the event.
Despite being placed on life support, she died on Monday after weeks of fighting for her life.
Her cousin shared her disbelief over the tragic ordeal.
“It’s absurd that someone goes out for a relaxing evening, goes to a party, eats a sandwich and ends up in the hospital,” Gianni Millia told The Sun.
“She was with her sisters, they all ate the same sandwich, but only she fell ill.
“They were celebrating their older sister’s discharge from the hospital. A party turned into a tragedy.”
Another victim, Roberta Pitzalis, 38, also consumed the contaminated guacamole before dying on August 8.
An autopsy confirmed her death was caused by a combination of botulism poisoning and pneumonia.
Two children, aged 11 and 14, are still being treated in hospital after reportedly eating from the same batch of guacamole.
As the community reels from the incident, Ms Sollai’s son Alessandro has issued a stark warning on social media.
“I strongly advise against eating any food sold at street stalls over the next few weeks.”
The tragedy has intensified public concern over food safety across Italy. Earlier in August, another botulism outbreak was reported in Calabria, in the country’s south.
In a separate incident, two people died after eating a contaminated vegetable and sausage sandwich.
